FIFTEEN-year-old Coombeshead College, Newton Abbot, student Jacob Rundle travelled to Birmingham's national indoor arena to compete in the Heart of England judo championships.
This is, without doubt, the toughest junior competition on the British calendar due to the strong overseas entry, coupled with the best of British fighters trying to earn points for the coming season's Great Britain squad selection.
A large entry saw the group divided into two pools of 14 players. WBB judo club member Rundle was placed in what turned out to be the stronger pool as three of the four medallists eventually came from this group.
Rundle started his first major competition in the under-50kg category with two wins by way of a yuko and wasa-ari scores before losing his next fight to an armlock against the eventual silver medal winner, Vince Dentinger, from Holland.
Now in the repechage, Rundle had to win all his remaining fights to secure a medal.
Fights four and five were more positive with Rundle winning both by ippon (maximum score) to set up a bronze medal fight against fellow squad player Dean Garlick, from Tonbridge, which Rundle won by a koka.
The strength of the foreign players was apparent as the other medals were won by Zair Karimov, gold; Dentinger, silver; the second bronze went to Elvinas Rupinskas.
Next up for Rundle will be Devizes at the end of the month, followed by the British championships at Sheffield in October.